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mechanicalriddle · 2 months ago

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HAPPY OCTOBER! (prompts by @bweirdart) (x)

Today(yesterday)(thedaybeforeyesterday)'s theme is favorite oc. I think it is probably obvious who is getting featured here if you have been following me for the *checks calendar* past two years

Character intro/diary/colossal infodump under the cut because I have to explain Exalted to you first before anything else makes sense in context, i'll rehash some of this in further detail for entries later in the month

WHO IS SHE?

My tabletop character.

What system is she from?

Extremely complicated question. For the completely uninitiated she is from a system called Exalted (3rd Edition), which is about spirits, gods, and the deeply fallible humans that the gods uplift to become humanity's ultimate champions. (surely they would never be crushed under the weight of their own hubris! update: oops!)

The original Exalted is a sort of post-post-post apocalypse bronze age deal. everything is sort of made of and governed by magic and elemental principles, various gods, etc etc. In the original Exalted, the titans who created the world are overthrown by their 'offspring', gods known as the Incarnae, after the incarnae choose to vest their power into their human Champions (the Exalted).

Now, for the vaguely initiated...

There is a published setting for an AU version of Exalted spoken about in quiet whispers...

Basically the main differences are:

-The Titans won, and humanity fled aboard the vast mechanical world-body of the Titan's only defector, Autochthon. then they lobotomized him and turned him into a gigantic warship

-all of this is in space. Normal exalted takes place on a large flat disc of reality adrift in a sea of infinite probability. This version is kind of like that except its three dimensional and instead of a flat disc it is a sphere that you can leave. so like the real world pretty much

-Takes place at the height of magitech rather than when Exalted normally does which is 2000 years after all that shit fell apart

The setting is called GUNSTAR AUTOCHTHONIA. If you see me make any references to this understand that this is what it is. We do also just call the campaign itself Gunstar also though, since it's the only one in this modified setting any of us have played.

OK now in context. Who is she

There is an organization made up primarily of the demigods uplifted by the god Sol Invictus; this organization is known as the Solar Deliberative, and it is a senate of god-kings of various levels of experience and corruption who rule over the Gunstar and command its forces against the Titanics. (In the original setting, the Deliberative is the ancient empire on which the world is built. In Gunstar, it remains alive and 'well'.) The god Luna also has their own Chosen, the Lunars, who are also part of the Deliberative. Lunars generally operate as the strike force of and seconds-in-command to the Solars.

Solars and Lunars are elected... Basically by lottery, from exceptional mortals who the Gods take a shine to, usually via some act of act of incredible heroism or just sheer brazen-ness. Two and two together, she won the big stupid lottery, despite not being terribly kind or clever or good natured or generous or. Well. The most important part, ambitious.

(pictured: Luna taking pity on some idiot after an Osmosis Jones suicide mission deep into Autochthon's corpus)

But Luna likes a fixer upper. Siithi is quickly coming to realize that worthiness means very little in this business, and any moron with a mote pool can save the universe, granted they're being at least halfway sensible with it. You'd think that'd be a low bar and yet she knows at least a few people personally who regularly fail to clear it.

What's she like...

She's loud, and crass, and trashy, and a bit mean. Maybe a little stupid. But she's been around the block at least two or three times. She considers herself a simple sort (except when she's contorting herself into 4th-dimensional interpersonal complexes.) She likes to drink and toke and watch wresting and hang out and take a nap. Now a bunch of jerks want her to be the savior of the people of the Gunstar or some other dumb horseshit. Fine, she said. I guess if you want me to do that I guess I can do it. Maybe I'll even be good at it. But that's not going to stop me from complaining about it the entire time. If only she didn't have this big, dumb, stupid, perpetually bleeding heart.

She has powers? Tell me about the powers.

She is stronger and faster and generally cooler than most mortals... Though that's fairly standard among the Exalted. Because she's Luna's chosen she can, of course, shapeshift. Mostly she acquires alter egos via people gambling them away to her so she can stay on the down low (deliberative members are extremely public figures so a lot of people know her true face...) She can also shapeshift into a variety of garbage animals, including her true "spirit shape" form which happens to be a fat bloodsucking worm

Most of her charms (lunar magic) are devoted to stamina charms (letting her do things like breathe poison, slow her own heartrate to become imperceptible, etc.), dexterity combat charms (useful but boring), mysticism (communing with spirits, presumably so she can rip them off somehow) but she has some fun utility charms like the one she used to pocket the craft-forward Dawn's makeshift bomb into an extradimensional space and refuse to give it back.

(It's still in there.)

Oh, yeah, also she can raise the dead. Which is not that weird in the regular Exalted setting but isn't really in vogue in Gunstar. By which I mean even foremost occult experts like Deliberative Twilights have never heard of necromancy before. She tries to be chill about this but that can sometimes be difficult, because firstly, most people think it's pretty creepy, and secondly, in a wartime economy a lot of factions would take some pretty drastic action to have that power for their own.

Now if only she could harness it to its true potential.

Give me some numbers.

She is 5'6", and 32 years old. She's about to hit Essence (level) 3, and has been exalted for probably about 6 months by this point.

Her gender seems pretty swanky.

Thank you!

She is intersex (17 BHSD deficiency) and personally doesn't identify with being transgender, but would be very hard pressed to call herself cis either.

I have received mixed messages about whether or not I'm actually allowed to say the word she most closely identifies with so I'll say it starts with a D.

Why do you have some pictures of her all scrawny and sad lookin

That is either because the drawing is well over a year old and her design has since changed, or because I'm drawing what she looked like before she exalted. At the time she was slowly dying of an occupationally-acquired disease. So you can guess why she has a weird relationship with the whole 'death magic' thing. Now she is post-miraculous recovery and much fatter and happier for it.

(happiness relatively speaking...)

Who is the dinosaur?

The dinosaur you have seen her drawn with from time to time is my friend @heedra's PC. Their name is Meteor-Dream, or Meat for short, and they are a half-creature half-spirit sort of thing known as a Dragon King. Dragon Kings are sapient dinosaurs with humanoid intelligence who retain their memories & reincarnate into new bodies every time they die, so Meat is actually rather fucking old.

Meat and Siithi are bestfriends!!! Or at least they were. They were bickering for a while. Meat has been busy slowly merging themselves, mind-body-and-soul, with the maligned violence spirit known as the Viator of Nullspace in a bid to kill their errant & traitorous god (Sol Invictus, who we've mentioned before, is actually kind of a dick who eventually switched sides, but the power of his Chosen remains vested in the Deliberative).

The pair had sort of come to an agreement about the situation, but also Meat is just getting kind of weird and hard to talk to lately & also huge and glowing nuclear furnace chest cavity and covered in darksteel plates with scary eyes and Siithi is simply not sure what she thinks about that. (Truthfully she knows what she thinks about it, but speaking it out loud would only cause more trouble...)

Is this some kind of friend-to-enemies-to-lovers thing?

Siithi is very aromantic and Meat thinks humans are disgusting little pink flesh homunculi, so... Nope!

Not to say that Siithi does not actively want or seek tail. Just not this tail specifically... that would be weird!!!

Alright. So why is she your favorite? What is the source of your obsession??

I don't know!!! She's simply funny.

I think it has to be partially an investment thing, because I have spent an egregious amount of time on her characterization, backstory etc. So I feel like I know her very well compared to some of my other OCs. I also am a huge sucker for tropey loser scumbags with secret inner worlds where they actually care way too fucking much, & then are subjected to The Horrors. Its sooooo awesome when you subject them to the horrors.

I also always get a lot of positive feedback on her! Presumably because other people think shes very funny as well. I hope you do too! But probably, if you've made it this far!

Thank you for supporting my work, even if you are on the barest periphery of what actually happens with it. I will continue posting more about her this month, because God Won't Let Me Stop !!!

✌️

#oc: siithi tag #bweirdOCtober

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lunarthecorvus · 6 months ago

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Six Of Crows Canon Divergence fanfiction recommendations

part of Lunar's soc fanficiton rec series

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The Pugilist's Creed by @bardelow

Wordcount: 123k Chapters: 30/30

Characters: Jesper Fahey, Kaz Brekker, Matthias Helvar, Nina Zenik, Inej Ghafa, Wylan Van Eck, Original Characters

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Violence, Gun Violence, Angst, Established Relationship, Slow Burn, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Gunshot Wounds, Matthias Helvar Lives, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fjerda, Ketterdam, Canon-Typical Violence, Protective Kaz Brekker, multiple POVs, Inej Ghafa is THAT bitch, Really everyone is THAT bitch, Eventual Fluff, Slow burn Kanej, Established Wesper, established helnik, Helnik Wedding

Author's summary/notes: “I wonder if you’d be dragging your feet like this,” Nina spoke through gritted teeth. “If it was Inej’s life on the line.” A storm fell over Kaz’s features, but he did not move, did not let his eyes fall away. Instead, he spoke in a slow, calculated tone. “I’d choose your next words very carefully, little deathrender. However soft you think I’ve grown, remember that I am always willing to show you that the monster is still alive and well.” It's been sixteen days since Matthias and Wylan were taken, and Kaz Brekker has chased down every possible lead only to come up empty handed. However, with an angry Nina and desperate Jesper at his side, he is willing to do whatever it takes to find his missing crows and bring them back home - even if it means more blood on his hands. My summary/notes: The first part of this fic is VERY angsty and consists of Nina and Jesper being mad at Kaz. Kaz is gen really trying to do his best. This fic comes with a side of badass Inej scenes. The rescue mission/'heist' was so fun to read even if it was intense and emotional. Matthias' POV's are written brillantly and I loved seeing the way his mind worked, he was very book!Matthias in this fic. I will end this with saying Inej, knife, heart.. that scene-

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carry your heart in their teeth by boybi_i

Wordcount: 21k Chapters: 1/1

Characters: Inej Ghafa, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Jesper Fahey, Matthias Helvar, Kaz Brekker, Jan Van Eck, Alys Van Eck, Kuwei Yul-Bo

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Book 1: Six of Crows, Kidnapping, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Except it takes like 17k to get to the comfort, Murder, Rescue Missions, Major Character Injury, Blood and Injury, Implied/Referenced Torture, None of said torture happens on screen but it is referenced and talked about, Knives, Knife giving as a love language, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Haphephobia, Canon Disabled Character, Inspired by a The Crane Wives Song, Jan Van Eck Bashing, Canon-Typical Violence

Author's summary/notes: “They will consume your sweet resistance And they'll carry your heart in their teeth But I am always feeding them The ugliest parts of me” - Take Me to War, The Crane Wives - On Vellgeluk, Van Eck kidnaps Kaz. Inej discovers the lengths that which she will go to get him back. My summary/notes: I loved reading Inej's thought process throughout the whole fic, the feelings were written so well. This fic was so interesting especially because its ck Inej and not post canon Inej dealing with Kaz. The crows do argue a lot in this fic, and Inej is focusing all her energy trying to figure out how get Kaz back while ignoring her pain. Very whumpy.

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Plan F by bbbeautifulboy

Wordcount: 168k Chapters: 30/? (hasn't been updated in a year)

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 2: Crooked Kingdom, Alternate Ending, Jurda Parem, Matthias Helvar Lives, On the Run, Canon Disabled Character, Deaf Character, Found Family, Jesper Fahey Has ADHD, Sign Language, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Angst with a Happy Ending, this fic is so unhinged, Mental Instability, Chronic Pain, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Addiction, Platonic Relationships, Service Dogs, Plot, Healing, POV Multiple, Pirates, Crows as Found Family, Captain Inej Ghafa, Time Skips, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Simp Matthias Helvar, Original Character(s), Including a baby, Minor Character(s), Developing Friendships, Hallucinations

Author's summary/notes: The Auction fails, leaving all of the Crows with a warrant for arrest over their heads and all of Ketterdam and the countries beyond officially their enemy. They've lost everything: their money, obscurity, and their last chance at winning and walking away free. They can only be helped by the Saints and each other now. What will they do to survive? The home that’s lived for years in his nightmares surrounds him, but he cannot see past the five people in front of him. His crew- they’re all looking to him, and as long as they are, he has something to fight for and protect the way he did his reputation and name in Ketterdam. He’s not letting them go. My summary/notes: In this fic you have everything, cottagecore, fluff, angst and a whole bunch of plots. The crows really feel like found family in this and its so sweet. A whole bunch of angst so be warned. Helnik is so cute in this fic. This was one of the first big fics I read and I absolutely adored it.

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l'appel du vide by @alltheworldsinmyhead

Wordcount: 41k Chapters: 8/8

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Tante Heleen

Tags: Angst with a bittersweet ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Marriage of Convenience, Kaz and Inej make a deal, jokes on them, mentions of past trauma, Canon Backstories, Past Rape/Non Con, Partners to Lovers, slowburn, Inej nevr becomes the Wraith, post-revenge Kaz, Kanej - Freeform, secondary wesper, Canon-Typical Violence

Author's summary/notes: “He was hoping that bringing a famous prostitute on his arm to the saloons and ballrooms of the rich and the powerful of Ketterdam would at least bring him some entertainment if nothing else. But what Kaz did not take into consideration was what marrying a woman like Inej really meant.” CANON DIVERGENCE AU: Kaz comes to the Menagerie for Inej many years too late and bites off more than he can chew. My summary/notes: Honestly this fic is the best thing I've ever read. It presents Inej's character so her but at the same she's so different and its expected as she has been in the menagerie for so many years. This story is a marriage of convenience and follows both Kaz and Inej's path of miscommunication angst and some healing along the way. If you read this fic you will never be the same.

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A Shift in the Air by Just_Another_Bookworm

Wordcount: 176k Chapters: 66/66

Characters: Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Matthias Helvar

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Pre-Canon, Kaz is Deaf, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Slow Build, canon adjacent

Author's summary/notes: The chattering masses of people he passed didn’t know it yet, but they would one day fear the half-drowned nine year old shaking from the cold and the effects of the plague. Then again, no one knew much about Kaz Brekker. They didn’t know he wasn’t from the Barrel or that he’d once had a family. They never guessed where the rasp in his young voice came from. They certainly didn’t know why he really wore gloves. Most weren’t even convinced he was human. No one ever suspected that Kaz Brekker was deaf. *** Basically a random story of what if Kaz went deaf from the plague. It starts sort of pre-canon and has expanded. I am bad at summaries so read the first chapter if you want to get a feel for what this story is. My summary/notes: Reading this Deaf Kaz AU was so fascinating, they adapted Kaz being deaf around canon soc so well. The Kanej in this fic captures that beauty of understanding each other through not saying words. It also goes into Kaz and Jesper's brother bond and it so sweet to read.

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beardedmrbean · 11 months ago

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TOKYO -- A Japanese spacecraft touched down on the moon early Saturday, making Japan the fifth country to reach the lunar surface. But officials said they still needed to analyze the pinpoint accuracy of the landing.

Hitoshi Kuninaka, head of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, said they believe that rovers were launched and data were being transmitted back to Earth. But there could an issue with the power supply.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, landed at about 12:20 a.m. Tokyo time on Saturday (1520 GMT Friday). Japan follows the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India in reaching the moon.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Japan’s spacecraft arrived on the surface of the moon early Saturday, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the landing was a success, because the Japanese space agency said it was still “checking its status.”

More details about the spacecraft, which is carrying no astronauts, would be given at a news conference, officials said. If the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, landed successfully, Japan would become the fifth country to accomplish the feat after the United States, the Soviet Union, China and India.

SLIM came down onto the lunar surface at around 12:20 a.m. Tokyo time Saturday (1520 GMT Friday).

As the spacecraft descended, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's mission control said that everything was going as planned and later said that SLIM was on the lunar surface. But there was no mention of whether the landing was successful.

Mission control kept repeating that it was “checking its status" and that more information would be given at a news conference. It wasn't immediately clear when the news conference would start.

SLIM, nicknamed "the Moon Sniper," started its descent at midnight Saturday, and within 15 minutes it was down to about 10 kilometers (six miles) above the lunar surface, according to the space agency, which is known as JAXA.

At an altitude of five kilometers (three miles), the lander was in a vertical descent mode, then at 50 meters (165 feet) above the surface, SLIM was supposed to make a parallel movement to find a safe landing spot, JAXA said.

About a half-hour after its presumed landing, JAXA said that it was still checking the status of the lander.

SLIM, which was aiming to hit a very small target, is a lightweight spacecraft about the size of a passenger vehicle. It was using “pinpoint landing” technology that promises far greater control than any previous moon landing.

While most previous probes have used landing zones about 10 kilometers (six miles) wide, SLIM was aiming at a target of just 100 meters (330 feet).

The project was the fruit of two decades of work on precision technology by JAXA.

The mission's main goal is to test new landing technology that would allow moon missions to land “where we want to, rather than where it is easy to land,” JAXA has said. If the landing was a success, the spacecraft will seek clues about the origin of the moon, including analyzing minerals with a special camera.

The SLIM, equipped with a pad to cushion impact, was aiming to land near the Shioli crater, near a region covered in volcanic rock.

The closely watched mission came only 10 days after a moon mission by a U.S. private company failed when the spacecraft developed a fuel leak hours after the launch.

SLIM was launched on a Mitsubishi Heavy H2A rocket in September. It initially orbited Earth and entered lunar orbit on Dec. 25.

Japan hopes a success will help regain confidence for its space technology after a number of failures. A spacecraft designed by a Japanese company crashed during a lunar landing attempt in April, and a new flagship rocket failed its debut launch in March.

JAXA has a track record with difficult landings. Its Hayabusa2 spacecraft, launched in 2014, touched down twice on the 900-meter-long (3,000-foot-long) asteroid Ryugu, collecting samples that were returned to Earth.

Experts say a success of SLIM's pinpoint landing, especially on the moon, would raise Japan's profile in the global space technology race.

Takeshi Tsuchiya, aeronautics professor at the Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Tokyo, said it was important to confirm the accuracy of landing on a targeted area for the future of moon explorations.

“It is necessary to show the world that Japan has the appropriate technology in order to be able to properly assert Japan's position in lunar development,” he said. The moon is important from the perspective of explorations of resources, and it can also be used as a base to go to other planets, like Mars, he said.

SLIM is carrying two small autonomous probes — lunar excursion vehicles LEV-1 and LEV-2, which will be released just before landing.

LEV-1, equipped with an antenna and a camera, is tasked with recording SLIM's landing. LEV-2, is a ball-shaped rover equipped with two cameras, developed by JAXA together with Sony, toymaker Tomy and Doshisha University.

JAXA will broadcast a livestream of the landing, while space fans will gather to watch the historic moment on a big screen at the agency's Sagamihara campus southwest of Tokyo.

#nunyas news #7th country not the 5th #US #russia #china #EU #Isreal #india #and now japan #unless we don't count hard landings

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stevebattle · 11 months ago

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SLIM Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2, AKA SORA-Q) by Tomy, JAXA, Sony Group, and Doshisha University (2023). The Smart Lander for Investigating the Moon, or SLIM (final photo), was launched from Japan on September 6 2023, due to make a precision lunar landing on January 19 2024. It will deploy LEV-2, an 8cm diameter, ball-shaped, transforming robot. Once on the surface of the moon, the robot splits, expands left and right, and a reaction trail pops out in a vehicular configuration. The wheels are mounted on an eccentric axle able to run in two modes, 'butterfly running' or 'crawling running'. The LEV-2 will be released from the lander 1.8 metres above the lunar surface, and begin rolling around to capture SLIM's landing and the surrounding area. LEV-2's battery is only expected to last about two hours.

"SORA-Q looks something like a metallic Wiffle ball and takes its name from sora, which means “sky” in Japanese; the “Q” is a homonym for the Japanese word meaning “sphere.” As the dust settles, SORA-Q will unfold like a Transformer: the sphere will split in half, exposing a pair of cameras and dividing its two hemispheres into wheels. In the case of M1, mission controllers will remotely instruct their SORA-Q to turn toward the main lunar lander and transmit images back to Earth." – A Mini Moon Rover from the Toy Company That Created Transformers, by Matt Alt, The New Yorker.

"We designed the vehicle to be a spherical object with expandable wheels and a stabilizer using the transforming technologies for toys. Moreover, we adopted the robust and safe design technology for children's toys, which reduced the number of components used in the vehicle as much as possible and increased its reliability." – Hirano Daichi, Palm-Sized Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 (LEV-2).

In 2023, Tomy released a retail model, called the Sora-Q Flagship Model. It has the same transformer abilities, and can be remotely controlled with a smartphone app.

UPDATE: The Tomy LEV-2 / SORA-Q rover successfully returned this incredible image of the SLIM lander nose down on the Moon (final image).

#cybernetics #space #robot #Tomy #JAXA #2023

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peachdies · 2 years ago

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Moon Dance

The end of a prompt that I haven’t actually written the intro for. Might get around to it, but I still have two finals to study for.

Y/N is the Lunar Hashira. She and Sanemi were partnered for a mission and took out a lower-moon, but Y/N aggravated an earlier shoulder injury. They went to a hot spring and things got steamy in more ways than one.

Tengen is terrified of Y/N.

I hope to write part one soon!

🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰🟰

The Wind and Lunar Pillars kept a respectful distance between them as they crossed the front threshold into the Master’s garden. The other Pillars had already gathered, eagerly chatting with one another and sharing their latest kills and updates about their trainees. The Love Pillar, Mitsuri, caught Y/N’s eye over the top of Shinobu’s head and lifted her arm to frantically waive at her arriving friend. Before Y/N could return the greeting, she saw Mitsuri’s eyes widen, and mouth from a small “o,” her arm still suspended mid-air.

Curious to know what had stunned the normally-chatty Love Hashira into silence, Shinobu too, turned towards the arriving duo, eyes widening as she took in the scene.

One by one, the other Hashira fell silent as both Y/N and Shinuzagawa approached and slowed to a stop. Y/N’s stomach fluttered uncomfortably as she looked from Pillar to Pillar. Rengoku’s eyebrows had nearly disappeared into his hairline; Tengen, who always had a snarky comment ready, stared dumbly at them, jaw slack and mouth wide open. Even Tomioka, who Y/N had never once seen emote, stared wide-eyed, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

The Lunar Pillar felt her heart begin to thump erratically in her chest. We were just on assignment together, why would it be strange to arrive together as well? She panicked, eyes pleading with someone, anyone to break the tension threatening to suffocate her.

“The FUCK are you gawking at, Tomioka?” Sanemi snarled from her right, advancing forward past Y/N as he sought to pick a fight with the Water Hashira. Tomioka said nothing, just merely raised an eyebrow, lips thinning.

That’s when she saw it.

Y/N’s haori had not been originally made for her. Rather, the exquisite, silver cloth with the royal blue embroidering had been made for her brother, in order to showcase both the family wealth and the connection to the greater Lunar breathing clan. After her family’s demise, Y/N had found it tucked into a chest, never worn. She could not find it in her heart to leave it behind as she prepared to leave for her life with the Corps.

Her brother. At the time of his death, he had been around Sanemi’s height.

Had the haori been made to fit her, rather than her brother, perhaps Sanemi would have realized something was off as they hastily dressed in the early hours of the morning, when the sun had not yet begun to creep over the mountains. He would have noticed that the haori felt tight, short, too much so to be his own.

And had the haori been made for her, Y/N would have known that the overlarge, roomy haori she grabbed this morning was not hers, but Sanemi’s.

“Oh my!” Came Shinobu’s tinkling laugh.

“Quite the flashy fashion statement,” Tengen simpered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Sanemi. Mitsuri giggled, covering her mouth and the faint dusting of pink that was spreading across her cheeks.

Sanemi whipped back around to Y/N, whose face was as red as the tomato plants growing in the corner of the garden. His eyes fell to her shoulders, and his eyes widened in horror as he gripped the silvery fabric draped around him in realization.

“The Master of the Mansion will be arriving soon.” Ubayshiki’s children announced, as the Hashira rushed to form a line and bow. Sanemi, as a result of his attempt to take on Tomioka, was forced to kneel down beside the dour man, while you took a spot two heads down next to Shinobu and Mitsuri.

Tomioka’s nostrils widened softly, as he sniffed the air. “New soap, Shinazugawa?”

Evidently, Sanemi was the only one among them who had not realized that the jasmine—and-honeysuckle scent wasn’t the result of some exotic bush in the Master’s garden.

Whatever doubt that may have existed as to what had transpired between Y/N and Sanemi evaporated. They may have been able to explain wearing each other’s haoris as nothing more than an innocent mix up, but there was no explanation for Sanemi smelling like Y/N that didn’t point to something…intimate.

Both Rengoku’s and Tengen’s shoulders shook in silent laughter, as Mitsuri’s blush deepened. Shinobu side-eyed the flushed Lunar Pillar. Y/N’s nails broke the skin of her palms as she clenched her fists in mortification, jaw tight.

Casting a side glance down at the Wind Pillar, Y/N saw all of the familiar tells that Sanemi was about to tackle Tomioka and make him the target of his rage. A vein ticked in his forehead while the thick muscles of his forearms rippled, a snarl ripping from the back of his throat.

He would have, had the Master not stepped out onto the veranda, smiling serenely in the morning light.

“My dear children. I am so grateful to have you all gathered here again.” Master Ubayashiki intoned, as the Hashira bowed their heads in reverence.

“Master, you honor us. I hope you are in good health.” Iguro’s reedy voice rose above them, as Mitsuri whimpered having again missed the opportunity to greet their Master.

“Thank you, Obanai. I am happy to report that yet another lower moon has been disposed of.” The Master said, glowing with pride for his children. “I am happy to hear of your successful mission, Sanemi. Y/N.”

The other Hashira made a concerted, but failed effort to suppress their smirks, again shaking with quiet laughter. Successful, indeed. Sanemi chanced a sly glance over to Y/N, having failed to meet your eye once your affair had been made public.

Y/N felt the weight of his stare as it bore into her side, the heat creeping back up her collar once more. Though she didn’t return his glance, she closed her eyes for a heartbeat, two, before slowly opening them again to fix her stare on the rocks and dirt beneath her.

It’s okay, She said, silently. I’m okay.

Sanemi felt his shoulders ease with a tension he had not realized he carried , returning his attention to the Master before him.

The Master asked for a debrief of the mission, and both Sanemi and Y/N alternated in replying, their voices even and resolute. Y/N was determined to maintain an aura of cool indifference, as though they had merely carried out their mission with the utmost professionalism. Sanemi followed her lead.

Professional. Professional. Be professional. Y/N chanted to herself. Don’t think about anything else.

Not about how Sanemi’s lips felt ghosting up the side of her neck. How hard his chest pressed into her back as he scooped handfuls of hot spring water and let it dribble sensually down her sore shoulder, down her breasts.

Not about how he looked, standing in the shallow bank of the spring, droplets of water running down his lower abdominal muscles and to the alluring “v” of his hips.

Not about how his hands dug into her thigh, her hip, his teeth sinking into the juncture between her neck and shoulder, her breasts. Or the sound of his pants and throaty growls, as he rocked into her while she sobbed his name, over and over.

Not about how pretty she felt when he unleashed himself inside her, wanton and sated.

Sanemi. Sanemi. Sanemi.

Y/N clenched her fists again, resisting the urge to shake her head and clear the memories of the previous night from her mind.

“Wonderful,” Master Ubayshiki marveled at the pair’s report. “And i trust neither of you sustained any serious injuries?”

Sanemi hesitated. “Y/N’s-,”

“My shoulder.” Y/N finished quickly. “It was knocked from its socket. I attempted to reset it, but it was still healing from an earlier injury.”

“I am happy to examine Y/N once we are adjourned, Master.” Shinobu offered, nodding at her friend.

“Excellent,” Master Ubayashiki smiled, “Y/N, please return to the Butterfly Mansion with Shinobu once we are through. I do not wish for you to be in any pain.”

“Yes, Master. I thank you for your concern.” Y/N bowed.

“Or to be too sore.” Tengen muttered to Rengoku, though not quiet enough.

Sanemi gnashed his teeth together, itching for a fight. He glanced once more to where you knelt, wanting to see if she had heard Tengen’s comment.

Y/N’s face remained impressively impassive, save for one small twitch of her eye. She heard.

Shifting his eyes back to the ground before him, Sanemi felt the corners of his mouth turn up into a smirk. Beside him, the unflappable Tengen, audibly gulped.

Good. The bastard had noticed her tell, too. Sanemi would happily sit back and enjoy the show, should she decide to rip Tengen a new asshole.

The rest of the meeting proceeded without much fuss. Master Ubayashiki reported on the new crop of slayers who had passed Final Selection — a whopping fifteen new mizonoto. Out of the nearly fifty who had tried out.

The sun was high overhead by the time the Master had dismissed them. Y/N rose alongside Kocho, who began prodding at Y/N’s shoulder, asking her when the first injury happened, and how she had re-set it after the fight with Koyechii. Y/N winced as the Insect Pillar tested the joint’s mobility, tutting that it was likely fractured.

Sanemi watched, subdued, as the pair of women Hashira walked towards him, making their way to the Butterfly Mansion. Before Y/N could pass him, she drew up short beside Tengen, eyes fixed on him, unblinking.

Tengen went rigid and bowed. “Apologies, Y/N, for making such an unflashy comment. I commend you for your victory.”

The other Hashira looked towards Y/N, eager to see her response. Y/N paused for a moment, before giving Tengen the sweetest, most tooth-rotting smile that Sanemi had ever seen.

Poison, Sanemi mused.

“Don’t you fret, Tengen,” Y/N cooed, honey dripping from her lips, “everyone knows you have a tendency to be a bit quick. Don’t feel too bad, it happens to everyone!”

Tengen sputtered as Y/N sauntered by, moving to rejoin Shinobu at the exit, and eyeing Sanemi as he began to make his way to his own estate, in the opposite direction.

Y/N felt her stomach clench as he neared. He seemed to be prepared to breeze by her without a word, but just as their shoulders passed, Y/N felt the familiar, rough skin of Sanemi’s fingers brush against hers.

“I’ll come find you. Later.” He murmured, soft enough that only she could hear. Y/N’s chin lightly dipped in a nod imperceptible to everyone else but him.

Shinobu watched Y/N as she approached her at the gate. As the two made off down the path towards the Butterfly Mansion, she began listing off the treatments Y/N would need to follow in order to ensure her shoulder healed properly.

She did not comment on the faint smile that tugged at the corner of her friend’s lips, nor on the pinkish glow of her cheeks. Y/N would divulge the details, when she was ready.

Despite the dull ache in her arm, Y/N felt oddly light; buoyant. Not even the news that the Insect Pillar would have to re-dislodge her shoulder joint to properly re-set it, dulled the slight pep in her gait.

Later.

#sanemi shinazugawa #kny sanemi #sanemi drabble #sanemi x y/n #kny x reader #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer shinazugawa

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theofficialastronomy101 · 5 months ago

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On May 6, 1968, NASA astronaut Neil A. Armstrong took off on a simulated lunar landing mission in a Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) at Houston’s Ellington Air Force Base (AFB). After about five minutes of nominal flying, the vehicle went out of control. About 200 feet above the ground, Armstrong chose to eject. While the LLRV crashed and burned on impact, Armstrong parachuted safely to the ground and suffered no injuries. An accident investigation board determined that a loss of helium pressure caused depletion of the hydrogen peroxide used for the reserve attitude thrusters. The vehicle’s instrumentation did not provide adequate warning about the adverse situation. Engineers corrected the problems before flights resumed in October, using an updated version of the craft called the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV).

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mindblowingscience · 9 months ago

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Intuitive Machines’ first moon mission will come to a premature end due to the spacecraft landing on its side, which altered how the solar panels are positioned in relation to the sun, the company said in an update Tuesday morning. Flight controllers were still working to determine the battery’s remaining life, which could be between 10-20 hours. The spacecraft, which landed on the moon five days ago, was expected to operate for 7-10 days.

#Science #Space #Astronomy #Planetary Studies #Moon #Odysseus

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underspacegame · 11 months ago

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Welcome starchasers! It’s a new year! A new you! A new us! New gods, built to burn down the old ones and establish a new pantheon inside their corpses! We like to do yearly recaps at this point, to summarize everything that’s happened in the past 2023s. So… what is done?

The answer: Everything. The game is content complete. Both campaigns (multiplayer and singleplayer), every quest, system, station, dungeon, boss, random mission, party member, flyable ship. There’s several hundreds hours of play here. As our testers can attest to, the game is absolutely MASSIVE.

Last year saw some of our most important changes ever. In addition to pumping out the majority of the content, we signed on with a publisher, started uploading our first steam builds, got quite a lot of coverage, and acquired a secondary orange cat.

The publisher’s probably the biggest one there. Our publisher, Camlann Games, will be spinning all the plates that my decaying and bruised body simply can’t spin anymore. That includes promotional work, community management, translations, ports, and the eventual subsumption of the continent into our lunar-based hivemind. Typical stuff. They even filmed a fancy new trailer for us, check it out!

youtube

So with all this in mind, you’re probably asking “what’s left?” or more appropriately you’re probably asking “where the hell is my quirky space game you train-eating bastard?”. The answer: It’s coming. And sooner than you might think. We’re now in the polishing and completion stage, which brings with it a LOT of testing, which itself takes time.

Still, two major blockers remain: The first is station detailing. This is going at a breakneck pace, in no small part because we have multiple level designers out there turning stations into stations with things on them.

The second is finishing up multiplayer. Again, this is going at a breakneck pace but testing can often be slow. If anyone ever tells you developing a multiplayer game is easy, they’re right. If anyone ever tells you that testing a multiplayer game and making a stable multiplayer game is easy, they’re wrong and you shouldn’t be speaking to them.

With that in mind, our release on Steam will be considered Early Access. The game you will be getting will be content complete and utterly massive, but at the end of the day this is a very small studio taking on a game as large as my ego. An early access release will allow us to better incorporate feedback on systems and tweak the game to make it as good as possible. There will not however, be less trains. There will be more trains if you ask for less trains.

As part of that release, Underspace’s demo will officially be coming to Steam quite soon! This brings with it a whole host of advantages, not the least of which is a much smaller download size and an easier way for us to push patches.

And that’s our yearly recap! We’ll return to your regularly scheduled updates now.

#underspace #game development #gamedev #video games #game design #unity3d #space #indie games #space games #space game #Youtube

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magebunkshelf · 15 days ago

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Nearly there! Hope you come join us for the premiere soon!

Also the rebrand is now live! Almost every audio on the channel now has an updated thumbnail! Will post fully about that soon, just wanted to note that not every audio has been updated yet, so if your favourite series still looks the same, don't worry, it's just delayed -

Audios that will be updated with rebranded thumbnails in the near future

Alien Abduction

Old Vampire

Moth Listener

Lochlan the Merman

Lunar Mission (will mostly look the same - the new style is based on this audio's unique thumbnail)

Audios that will not be updated

Helping Mordecai (entry to a friend's contest)

The Raven poem reading

The compilation audios

The Temptations of Satan April Fool's'' ASMR audio

The minisodes (I may add the continuity logos in the corner later but the designs won't change)

Audios that might be updated in the future but not a current priority

Respawn Ch. 1–3 Compilation

Stories From Respawn: The Creator and the Beginning

Everything else has now been updated! Yes, even that one.

See you in the live chat shortly! ^ ^ (also it might take half an hour or maybe longer for some thumbnails to update, YT is slow to update them sometimes)

#mage bunkshelf #audio rp #audio roleplay #youtube #bunkshelf blog

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gbgamebun · 4 months ago

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Super Cream 64 v6 Update Patch Notes

Unless mentioned, updates listed will be featured for all versions. General Fixes/Updates

Opening logo has been updated

Dialog has been updated to address typos and new changes (thank you Saralene for the help!)

Legacy Puppycam camera has been readded and set to default. Can be changed at anytime in Options > Camera. Big thank you to AloXado320 (and SM64ex-Alo in general) for implementing this suggestion.

(PC/Switch) A brand new config file called cream64config.txt will generate instead of using the default sm64config.txt to prevent conflict with other mods. You may need to reconfig your binds and settings if you've played previous builds. The new config file is still located in the same folder as the previous config.

Game will no longer crash from landing after a triple jump. A fix carried over from SM64ex-alo.

Cheese follow code has been updated. Cheese will now spawn in the Castle Grounds and disappear when the ending cutscene starts.

Camera readjust whenever the player landed from flying in the default/lakitu cam has been fixed. Leftover code from Chao Bandstand was causing the issue back when flying put you into Wing Cap Cam. - The following levels affected will now behave properly whenever you landed: Big Boo's Haunt, any level that used 8 Directional Cam, the aquarium room inside the castle and any Eggman fight.

Levels

Melancholy Mines (formally Cavern of the Metal Cap): - Added a floor to make advancing to the upper level much easier - Removed a spot that could cause softlocks and replaced it with a wall grate.

Mission Street (formally Secret Aquarium): - Minor updates to fix some collision and remove some geometry - (PC/Switch) Added two Beatmania IIDX machines & a Pop'N Music machine in the arcade inside the theater with new music to accompany them. - (PC/Switch) "Is it me or did that strange Accelgor in the window look at me funny?"

Big Boo's Haunt: - King Boo Boom's hitbox has been adjusted to actually fit the model. - This also means the Big Boo in the merry-go-round now has that same hitbox so keep that in mind.

Music & SFX

Music have been updated for: - File Select - Melancholy Mines - Post-End Credits

Silver's voice quip has been updated to actually be from him. Previous was from Trunks from Xenoverse cause it was funny.

Added new noise whenever the player gets squished and takes damage.

All but a handful of outfits now have unique star collecting jingles, barring a few repeats with some. The few left will use the default jingle.

Outfits

Outfit selection has been updated: - (N64) Removed: Amy, Creamocchia, Klonoa and Vanilla outfits. Added: Detective, Princess, Lunar New Year and Drummer. - In addition, Drummer and Mario have unique star collecting jingles while the rest use the default. - (PC/Switch) Removed: Denji and Roger Rabbit outfits. Added: Junihotoe, Princess, Detective, Drummer, Lunar New Year, Shadow, Silver, NiGHTS, Princess Daisy, Sakura (SF Alpha), Luke (SF6), Richter, Charlotte, Mimi, Ryuta, Peppino, AVGN, Kairi (BBS), Parappa, Vanny, Madotsuki, Arle, DQ3 Hero, Sybil, Olimar, Pit, Ribbon, Rukia, Jin Kariya, Carrot, Cream (Eto Ranger), Sakura (CCS), Pomni, Tammie, Cacee, Lily, Pastel, Dina, Magenta, Midnight & Terry outfits. You can view all the selectable outfits here. - N64 version outfits viewable here. - Several outfits have been updated since v5. These may also include changes to Cheese's model: - Minor updates: Riders, Winter, Spring, Daniela - Major updates: Ichiban, Travis, Jack, Dudley, Roll, Maria, Goku, Pan, Anya, DQ3 Mage, KZ, Caroline, Pocky, Johnny and Dot.

(PC/Switch) Selecting outfits has been slightly updated: Users can press Up or Down on DPad to move up list by increments of 10. If not working by default then must be binded in Options > Controls.

There's prolly so much more that I'm missing but hey that's the jist of it at least. Links below to play and/or compile your version of choice.

N64: https://romhacking.com/hack/super-cream-64 PC/Switch: https://github.com/Gamebunn/Cream64_PC

There is a 3DS version on a certain app but it's on v3 and, as of right now due to various issues, there's no plans to porting all the new stuff over. Could change later but I'm ready to move on.

#bundoodles #super cream 64 #sc64 #cream the rabbit #nintendo 64 #pcdecomp #decomp #v6 #release

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samsseptember · 1 year ago

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Samtember 2023 Week 2 Fills:

Here are the fills for the second week of our Samtember 2023 event! Enjoy all these wonderful pieces!

Samtember Day 08: Figaro | Sick Day by @sammy-souffle | Moodboard | Figaro, Moving, Fresh Starts |

"Long, Separate Vacations, Eh?" by @thatmexisaurusrex | Moodboard | Pairing: SamBucky | Vacation, Domestic Fluff, They're Going On A Long Vacation All Right |

"BREAKING NEWS: SAM WILSON AND BUCKY BARNES INTERVIEW EACH OTHER? CONFUSING NEWS REPORTER" by @thatmexisaurusrex | Edit | Pairing: SamBucky | Established Relationship, Interview, Ignore Me I'm Being Goofy |

Kissing Sam Wilson #12 - Legacy by @ironstrangle | Pairing: SamBucky | Rated: N/A | Legacy, Reflection. Kissing |

Samtember Day 10: Cap Quartet 2.0 | Mission by @sammy-souffle | Moodboard | Cap Quartet, Mission, Friendship |

Goodbye, Stranger by @thatmexisaurusrex | Edit | Pairing: SamBucky | Amnesia, Heist, Strangers to Lovers |

We’re so excited about what you all will make for week three and remember that we have an AO3 collection for September 2023 that you can find here.

#samtember2023 #sam wilson #captain america #fan event #sambucky #samquin #samriley #catws #the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws #fanfic #moodboard #edit #graphic #podfic

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imtryingmybeskar · 2 years ago

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Come Home Chapter Fourteen

Joel Miller x F! Reader.

Word count - 4,002.

More spoilers for Ellie’s sixteenth birthday celebration. I always wondered how Joel got that recording of a liftoff, so I wrote it!

Some soft! Joel incoming, but there are storm clouds on the horizon...

Come Home

Chapter Fourteen - Every Sky Is Blue...

The space exhibition you emerge into is small but comprehensive and very interactive, especially since you can now reach out and touch stuff you weren’t supposed to before - the model of a lunar rover, the facsimile of the moon, the reproductions of the rockets. You accidentally knock a couple of these off their perches and they won’t reattach afterward despite your best efforts, so you leave them in disarray and scurry away hurriedly even though there is no one to berate you for your clumsiness except Joel who just laughs at you.

“You ruinin’ Ellie’s present already?” he teases as you walk to the other side of the room.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you reply airily. “Ohhh look, spacesuits!”

The spacesuits decorate the sides of a rounded room, the star of which is a space capsule, overgrown with ivy and vines that have forced their way through the glass ceiling above and twined their way around the object. You run your hand over the riveted metal and a thought suddenly strikes you.

“Yeesh. Imagine being up there when everything happened. Fuck…you’d see…you’d hear everything. The news reports before they stopped. Updates from mission control. The bombs…And then just…nothing. And you’d know that no one was coming. Ever. Christ. Those poor bastards.”

“Now, I was havin’ a real nice day before you said that,” Joel replies, grumpily.

“Sorry,” you apologise, turning to grimace at him. “I’ll shut up. You’re right. Ellie’s going to love this.”

Joel smiles toothily before he reaches to grasp the handle of the capsule on the floor.

“Gimmie a hand with this will ya?”

Between you, you manage to pull the heavy metal door open and the dry, stale, twenty year old air whooshes out from inside as you do.

“Wowww, this is so cool!” you say as you stick your head inside to look at the controls. It seems like there are a thousand buttons and switches spread over several consoles, all just begging to be pressed and fiddled with, as well as a joystick between the two empty seats that the capsule has to offer. “Joel, come look at this!”

“Yeah, just a sec,” he says. His voice is absent minded and far away and you pop your head back out to look at him. He’s staring at the spacesuits, and then his eyes flick back to the capsule.

“What you thinking?” you ask.

“What if…I could make this like a proper mission?” he says, slowly. “Get the helmet, get in the capsule, pretend to take off…But I’d need…I mean they gotta have a copy here somewhere…” He trails off again and you look at him in puzzlement, letting him work it out silently. He tips his head up, looking at the sky that can be seen through the glass dome of the ceiling above and hums thoughtfully.

“I think we got time,” he mutters to himself, then looks at you, a purposeful gleam in his eye. “How would you feel about explorin' a little more? Lookin’ around some of the stuff behind the scenes here?”

He leads you back downstairs to one of the smaller dinosaur exhibits where a set of double doors leads to a long, dark corridor that has precisely zero light, natural or otherwise and as such looks extremely uninviting to your eyes. You take a breath and follow Joel through, sticking very close to him as the combined light of your torches sweeps over the walls and floors. Still no fungus, still no spores, for which you are grateful, but you can feel the insidious blackness begin in your mind. The projector of your nightmares begins to whir as your brain makes connections between what is and what was and you feel only a little shame as you clutch on to Joel’s arm with a shaking hand. He stops immediately.

“You alright?” comes his deep voice from the darkness.

“Yeah, can just we get out of this corridor please?” Your voice is more terse than you had intended, but he seems to understand.

“We’ll step it up,” he promises. He takes your hand in his and holds it tight. A development which you had not been expecting but weren’t inclined to argue against given that it was actively helping in this situation.

The torchlight picks out plesiosaur bones, underwater fossils and information about them lining the walls, and additional small exhibits that you have no intention to stop and look at are displayed underneath. After what feels like twenty minutes of walking you come to another set of double doors, these ones with an ornately carved wooden sign above them proclaiming that you are about to enter The Hall of Minerals, and when you push open the door you give an audible sigh of relief. Tall windows on one side allow the fading light in, and it’s enough for you to be able to command your stomach to unclench. You give Joel’s hand a companionable squeeze before you let him go.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

This place has been modelled to appear more old fashioned than the other parts of the museum that you’ve seen – polished wood panelled walls cocoon the room, towering decorative ionic pillars of crumbling plaster do almost nothing to support the ceiling, and spindly, Victorian looking display cases lie in dusty clustered rows, their treasures gleaming dully within. You pass through slowly, taking in the beauty of the gems, geodes and meteorites. Toward the centre of the room some large pieces of plaster have fallen from the ceiling and glass and jewels both glitter on the ground together, spilling out from the smashed case above. The shine of them catches your eye and you crouch down to take a better look.

“You think it would be bad if I took some of these?” you ask Joel as he comes to see what’s captured your attention.

“Well…I don’t think anyone’s comin’ back for ‘em,” he points out. “What, you want a diamond?”

“Nah, not my thing. But this-“ You pull up a shining pearlescent blue opal, veins of pink and orange and purple fire running through it. “-this is gorgeous.”

“Probably better to have someone appreciatin' ‘em. And its not like you smashed the case.”

“Thank you for supporting my life of thievery, Joel.”

“Long as you ain’t stealin’ my rations, I do not care.”

“So…what are we looking for, anyway?” you ask as you continue to pick through the rocks on the floor, pocketing small bits of lapis lazuli, fire agate and bismuth and feeling distinctly corvid-like at your desire to possess the useless, shiny things.

“A recordin'. Of a rocket launch. I’m gonna give it to her to listen to on her Walkman while we’re in the capsule. I can’t train her to be an astronaut. But I can at least try to help her live it.”

You look up at him, both impressed by the originality of the idea and touched by the sentiment of it. “That’s such a wonderful idea! She’s going to have the best birthday."

“Well, I don’t think she’s had too many she cares to remember. I want this one to be good.”

“She’ll be happy whatever you do,” you smile, resuming your sifting of the stones and glass. “As long as she’s with you. Dinosaurs and going in to space definitely can’t hurt though.”

Once you’ve collected up all of your ill-gotten gains, Joel heads toward the back corner, where you can see a door of the same polished wood, the sign proclaiming that the area is for Staff Only ruining the original intention of having it blend in with the rest of the wall.

Another long corridor lies beyond, this one thankfully with some more windows to light your way. The sky outside is now distinctly angry looking – dark grey clouds totally blotting out the sun, tree branches whipping violently in the wind and tiny patters of rain beginning to drum against the window panes and roof.

“We need to get back to the horses soon,” you mutter to Joel.

He nods his agreement and you each take a side of the corridor, looking at the descriptive plaques on each to determine what lies inside, and listening carefully to check if there are any lurking visitors aside from yourselves. Nothing grabs your attention except the administration office, where you both search through the drawers and come away with pens, notebooks, scissors, twine, a box cutter, and some duct tape. On your last sweep of the room you find a drawer locked at the bottom of one of the desks and manage to pry the cheap wooden front off with brute strength. A cup with a family portrait printed on it, papers and files that were no doubt once important and confidential, some sort of snack that now coated the inside of a Ziploc bag with black goo…and a voice recorder. You take the bag to wash out and reuse and then hand Joel the recorder.

“Ohhh you’re smart,” he smiles, and your heart gives a warm little tremble in your chest at his praise. He reduces the volume and presses the play button whereupon a low, garbled hissing stream of speech begins to emanate from the device, some sort of letter being dictated by the sounds of it. Satisfied that it works, Joel begins to put it in his pocket and then hesitates.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just...well it's kinda stupid but I feel bad about recordin' over this. It's like...it's like erasin' the person."

"Well, they could still be kickin' out there," you reassure him with a shrug. "Besides, it would only have sat in that drawer until it became unusable. Better that we take it and use it for something to make Ellie's day special. And it's definitely more useful than these rocks that are probably going to weigh me down and drown me on the swim back."

He laughs at that, the previous small frown of doubt cleared from his handsome face.

"Well, I ain't helpin' you if you get in trouble. You live by the rock, you die by the rock."

"Joel, that is quite possibly the worst saying I've ever heard. I'm just gonna let myself drown after that!"

"Might catch on," he sniffs prissily, then he smiles and winks and you continue on your search for Ellie's birthday surprise.

The corridor leads to a stairwell and you descend into the depths of the museum, now relying fully on your torches again. Joel doesn’t wait this time and instead seeks your hand immediately, the warm press of his palm against yours a lifeline to the reality in front of you. Still no spores, still no infected, and by this time you’re starting to relax a little. You couldn’t be sure, but if anyone had been left in here, or come here to shelter you’re pretty sure you would have seen evidence of them by now. It helps, the idea that at least you probably won’t be fighting off the dead today, and your brain is able to sharpen into better focus without the distraction of that particular worry. The enclosed space of the corridor and its dry, ancient air is stifling though, and you briefly let go of Joel’s hand to unbutton your top shirt and roll up your sleeves to release some of the warmth that is starting to make itself known in prickles on your hairline.

“This looks like the place,” Joel mutters quietly a few moments later. Your torchlight joins his as the light picks out a nondescript door marked “Archives.”

The door deposits you on to a platform and twisting staircases with beautifully carved wooden bannisters lead down into the cavernous room inside. It’s lit by long, rectangular windows set horizontally high up into the walls and is packed floor to ceiling with…stuff. So much of it that your brain has difficulty processing what’s what initially. In-built wooden bookcases line the walls, more information held within than one person could possibly ever absorb. Small workspaces are interspersed with them, long dead computers showing their permanently blank faces to the room. Rows upon rows of large metal shelves and filing cabinets are spread out below, random labelled objects and heavy looking box files sitting forgotten and dusty upon them while smaller, older wooden catalogue drawers with yellowing identifying labels attached stretch away toward the back of the room. Large, semi-opaque plastic sheeting cover erratic piles and you catch glimpses of what lies beneath - plaster cast bones and cardboard boxes and enormous preserving jars, their innards hidden by the yellowish tinge of the embalming fluid that cocoons them. There’s even an old recording desk with tape reels off to one side, the process of digitisation halted forever.

The sheer scale of information to sort through is overwhelming, but you press on into the darkening room and begin to search separately, the feeble yellowish light from outside now being assisted by your torches. Joel takes the filing cabinets, you start with the older indexes. You find plenty to take your interest, but nothing like what Joel needs and even as you wish you had more time to stop and enjoy this peek into a world you had never known, your mind is itching with the knowledge that you have been at the museum for quite a while, your skin starting to buzz with the desire to move on, the ingrained habit of never staying too long in one spot hard to ignore. You stray briefly to the books, not expecting to find what you need, but with a desire to take some additional reading material while you can. Next to one of the workstations lies a copy of “An Idiot’s Guide To Space”, the page open to a section about quasars. Thinking of Joel’s reaction to being presented with it, you smile and put it into your backpack along with a couple of other tomes that you think Ellie might enjoy.

“I think this is it.”

Joel’s voice is low and excited, and you rush to join him in front of one of the filing cabinets. The CD cases he holds all bear handwritten notes – ‘Audio Gemini ‘65’, ‘Audio Apollo ‘69’, ‘Audio ISS ‘96’ – and he looks gleeful as he begins to shove them into his backpack.

“Hold up.” He’s instantly alert, hand moving automatically toward his gun and you shake your head to calm his fears. “No, it's okay. I just had a thought. We need to make sure all of this doesn’t get wet when we’re swimming back.” You cast about for a solution better than the Ziploc bag and light upon the plastic sheeting, tilting your chin toward it. He grins and you begin the process of extracting them from where they are twined around their contents, coughing as the dust they also contain twirls into the air.

Cargo successfully protected, you make your way back toward the entrance. You’ve never seen Joel quite like this before. His eyes are animated and sparkle with excitement, his gait lighter than usual and he literally has a little bounce in his step. The sight makes your heart hurt in the best way. It’s a glimpse into his life before, of the father that he was. Would have been. Could have been. It’s also very infectious and you find yourself grinning widely at both his glee and the prospect of Ellie's as you bid a final farewell to your Triceratops steed.

There is one final stop – the gift shop. The light is minimal in here too, the large windows having been overgrown with moss and vines that block out most of what light remains of the day, but since you’re not too worried about infected anymore you take your time to see what treasures you can find. It’s a pretty good haul. Several packs of unopened, unspoilt colouring pencils, stationary sets with cartoon dinisaurs decorating them, educational books for children that you intend to donate to the daycare and school, some items of clothing that have endured due to their plastic wrappings, a couple of umbrellas. Then, on to the more frivolous things.

“Hey Joel,” you call him over. “What do you think? I didn’t get Ellie anything for her birthday yet.”

He examines the collection in your hands. A few dinosaur pin badges that you thought would look nice on her bag, some glow in the dark stars to decorate her ceiling and two self-assembly kits - one of the solar system and one of a dinosaur skeleton.

“I’d wait to give them to her until you get back to Jackson, obviously. Wouldn’t be much of a surprise for her to come here otherwise!”

“I think you’re spoilin’ that girl,” he smiles, his tone indulgent.

“Says the man who’s risked life and limb and spent an entire week making sure she would get here without encountering any infected,” you retort, also with a smile.

“We ain’t exactly been overrun,” he chuckles.

“Hey, you didn’t know what was out here when you started this. Could have been far worse.”

“Well, that’s true. She’ll love them. The dinosaur kit’s for you though, right?”

“Dammit, you got me! How did you know?”

“I’m psychic, didn’t you know? I know everything that goes on in that head of yours.”

Though he’s clearly teasing, you still can’t stop the flustered feeling that flutters in your chest at his words, and you try very hard not to allow some of the more explicit daydreams that you’ve had about him float to the surface of your mind.

“It’s a Triceratops,” he clarifies, and you hope you’ve gotten away with your embarrassment once again.

As you exit the museum, you're perturbed to see that the sky is looking steadily more menacing. The grey clouds above are heavy and brooding, and you resign yourself to the possibility of staying in the tent all night. Though was it really resigning yourself if you were looking forward to it? To talking to Joel, listening to him strum softly on his guitar, to falling asleep next to him under the soothing hiss of the rain pattering on your tent?

“Urgh, my boots were so nearly dryyyy,” you whinge as you step back into the pool of water. “If you come across any next time you’re on a run, please get them for me. These are never going to recover!”

“Get in line,” he calls back as he swims ahead. “I’ll be lookin’ for my own!”

You make it about halfway back before the heavens open. Fat droplets splash into the water around you and even though you’re half submerged and wet from the neck down already, somehow the rain makes you feel even more soaked through. God only knew how you were going to dry off-

A wave of water suddenly tips over your head and you splutter, swiping at your eyes so your vision clears. When it does, you’re met with the sight of Joel grinning at you as if he had just told an amazing joke.

“What the fuck! What was that for?!”

“What? You can’t get much wetter!” he laughs as he gestures to the sky.

You swim closer toward him with exaggerated movements, launching wave after wave of water over him and when you reach him you take him by surprise when you grab on to his broad shoulders and push him down to dunk him under the agitated surface of the once-peaceful stream.

“Neither can you, now,” you cry triumphantly as you swim away from him.

“I’ll get you for that!” you hear him splutter behind you.

“Gotta catch me first, Miller,” you shout back gleefully as you race to shore, the hissing splash of rain surrounding you.

In fact, you reach the shore at the same time and you kick water at each other as you exit the stream, both still trying to get the upper hand in your silly game.

“Hey! Not fair, your legs are bigger than mine,” you protest as a particularly large wave reaches you.

You make a break for the trees and stand under their relative shelter, chuckling softly as you start to try to wring out the bottom of your shirt and barely noticing the droplets of water that slide off the leaves above and trail down the nape of your neck.

“Aw man, I think I might as well just throw these in there and be done with it!” you say as you shake your arms violently, trying in vain to make yourself even a little bit drier. “At least now I don’t need to try to wash in-“

Your words are stolen from you as you look up at Joel. Instead of following your futile efforts to dry off, he’s rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and is now running his hands through his hair to push it back from his face. Time seems to slow as you stare, taking in the way his fingers run smoothly through the mix of slicked back silver and black, veins prominent on the back of his hands, his brow furrowed a little and eyes closed as he concentrates on his task. One stubborn curl won’t stay. It pops forward over his forehead and deposits a droplet of water that runs down the bold curve of his nose to combine with another and another as they join together and run in rivulets over his neck, the hollow of his throat, until they melt into the rest of the moisture on his skin.

The air in your lungs feels trapped. You can’t take a breath in, you don’t even want to because if you do it means the moment will have passed and you will have to tear your eyes away from the divine sight you have been presented with. And it’s already too late, far too late. He must have seen you. You’ve been staring at him for way too long for him not to have noticed.

But no, he hasn’t. Because he’s staring at you too, and it's as if time has now simply ceased to be altogether. A shiver passes through you at the look in his eyes. The most tender hunger you’ve ever seen lies within those dark and fathomless depths. They linger on your lips, they rove slowly downward, and suddenly you realise that you forgot to do your shirt up before swimming back. Your chest moves more rapidly at the revelation, and he allows his eyes to rake down your body before he too seems to remember himself. He drags his eyes back to your face and there is a thickening in the air that has nothing to do with the storm clouds.

He steps forward confidently, once, twice, and you do not step back. His hand comes up, steady as anything. This close he’s still so calm, but you feel like you’re trembling so hard that you’re practically vibrating. The pad of his finger is calloused under your jaw as he tilts your chin and you go with it willingly. He cradles your jaw in one large hand as his thumb softly traces a water droplet from your lower lip, dragging it slightly with the movement, and you can’t take your eyes from the endless abyss of his as he bends to you, as he moves himself impossibly near. His lips are so close to yours that you can feel the warmth of his breath brush against you and now you can’t take your eyes off of that perfect mouth, can almost taste the sweetness of him-

BOOM

He leaps backward, the thunder startling you apart and you’re so dizzied by what has happened and what has not happened that you can’t even translate the words that are now falling from those beautiful lips.

“Shit! The horses!”

Your brain finally catches up with your ears and your eyes grow wide. Shit. The horses.

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